Days of Silence
Days of Silence, a story by Dew click/tap to view story Days of Silence is a story by Dew. Blurb The clans have finally arrived at their new territories, and have helped one another to settle in and decide upon borders and camps. Doepaw and Duskpaw, kits of Luna, have recently started training. They haven't seen the old territory before, but have heard stories about the events that took place there and the look of the camp their mother has been in. But a strange group of rogues lives in the area, hidden underground where the clans cannot see them. They may seem like nothing to worry about at first, but danger lies ahead of the clans if they don't do anything about the rogue group soon... And the new territories won't be safe... Prologue The forest held an eerie silence. The sky was starless and the gnarly silhouettes of lifeless trees stood still like stone. There was movement amongst the black canopy, and a sleek black tom padded through the Shade Forest, slightly faded so that a pair of eyes could see straight through his shape. Another half-faded cat sat on a slope, his pelt a dark ginger and his eyes an unfriendly yellow. He heard the sound of the shaking undergrowth and turned his head towards the approaching cat, eyes burning into his black pelt like a pair of tiny suns. "Greetings, Redwood," the black tom hissed in a sinister way. Redwood's suns glowed brighter. "Hello, Blackwillow." Blackwillow looked up to where the stars should be, and scowled. "MirageClan and all the other Clans are pieces of crow-food," he snarled. "They took the spirits of the greatest Shade Forest cats, including Scarredstar." Redwood nodded, his suns dim. "We can't let this go without revenge." He took a few pawsteps down the hill, eyes fixed on Blackwillow's. "Come with me." His gaze turned into the darkness and he stalked away, into the blackened woods. Blackwillow, before he could lose Redwood, followed the ginger tom into the area he disappeared and found him perched over the Murky Puddle. The Murky Puddle was a large, black puddle, which is used to see the world below the Shade Forest. Redwood, noticing Blackwillow's arrival, gently dipped his claw into the puddle, and slashed it, sending ripples across the surface. Something then started to appear; the sleeping shapes of two apprentices. One was light brown she-cat with white spots and patches, and the other was a dark grey tom, so dark that he looked almost black. "Doepaw, and Duskpaw," muttered Redwood, still glaring at the apprentices. "They will be our targets for our first act of revenge." Blackwillow stared at the mirage, then looked back at Redwillow, who was still staring at the puddle. "What are we doing to them?" "Duskpaw will go missing. And pretending to be MirageClan, we will enter Doepaw's dream and we'll send her on a useless journey." He turned to look at Blackwillow, a sinister smirk forming on his face. "A journey that could get her killed." Chapter One Duskpaw was falling down a pit, everything around him pitch black. He couldn’t see a single thing, but he knew he was falling. If he looked up, there was no light, so he was far beyond MirageClan’s reach. A strangely familiar voice started to revertebrate off the walls, calling his name. It was faint and gave mysterious echoes as it bounced around his ears. Suddenly, Duskpaw stopped falling, and felt the comfort of his nest under his paws. The voice called again, this time loud and clear. "Duskpaw," said Lionstrike, "wake up. It’s morning, and it’s time to train." Duskpaw slowly opened his eyes to find himself back in the apprentices den. Apart from his, every nest was empty, including the one belonging to his sister, Doepaw. They must all be out training already. "Okay, Lionstrike," Duskpaw meowed, slowly lifting his head. He stretched in his nest, claws unsheathed, then stood up, his paws slightly shaky from the dream. He remembered that when he was a kit, he was judged by Snowpaw and Grasspaw for being the son of Luna, a former kittypet. But so far, according to Lionstrike, he was doing a great job for a young apprentice. And his kind, strong mentor, after being told about Duskpaw’s kithood, knew how he felt. He told Duskpaw how he also joined as a loner, and was judged by some when he first came into the Clan. Even after earning his warrior name, he was still judged for a few more days before really settling into the Clan. Duskpaw left his nest, and padded into the clearing. His mentor was waiting for him outside the apprentices’ den. The clearing was already bustling, with warriors sharing tongues and patrols coming back and forth, Thrushfeather making more and more patrols exit camp. The fresh-kill pile was stacked with prey. It was Leaf-fall, close to leaf-bare, yet the LightClan warriors were able to catch plenty of fresh-kill for the Clan. One day, Duskpaw thought, one of the pieces of fresh-kill on the pile will be caught by my claws. One day, I’ll be one of them. I’ll be a warrior. "Get your head out of the clouds," Lionstrike admonished softly. "We need to train." Unlike his sister Doepaw, Duskpaw was usually daydreaming and easily lost focus of what he was doing, and liked to think about other things. Doepaw, on the other side, listened to almost everything she was told, and focused better than any cat Duskpaw knew. She would make a better warrior than me. "Come on, Duskpaw." When Duskpaw looked up at the entrance, Lionstrike was already waiting for him. Eyes wide, he rushed towards his mentor, bumping into a white pelt on the way. Duskpaw’s eyes widened further, and he quickly apologised, expecting the white warrior to growl at him. But the cat he rammed into was Cherryheart. She looked at Duskpaw with kind green eyes. "That’s okay, Duskpaw," she mewed calmy. "I understand why you were rushing." She smiled at him, green eyes glowing with kindness. "Thanks," Duskpaw muttered, half to himself, before heading towards his mentor. Although Lionstrike was strong and helpful, he would love to have Cherryheart as his mentor. Unlike most of the warriors in the Clan, she doesn’t mind clumsy apprentices darting into her side. Even Lionstrike would get mad at Duskpaw if he was the pelt who got rammed into. "Focus." Lionstrike’s voice was harsher this time, and Duskpaw couldn’t help but shiver. "Sure," Duskpaw half-challenged. Lionstrike didn’t respond. He beckoned with his tail to tell Duskpaw he had to follow him. Duskpaw, wanting to show his mentor he was ready to train, followed Lionstrike into the forest. Before long, Lionstrike halted in between the Pinezone and the Hunting Woods. He turned around to face Duskpaw, amber eyes wary. "Hunting or fighting?" Duskpaw wanted to go hunting. He didn’t like fighting and wasn’t that good at it, because it requires a lot of focus. Yes, hunting requires focus too, but fighting requires even more focus. Yesterday he had fight training, and he didn’t enjoy it; he tripped over two or three times, hurting his shoulder. It still slightly ached, Duskpaw realised. "Hunting," he finally declared. Lionstrike gave a curt nod. "This way," he meowed, heading into the hunting woods. Duskpaw followed him, still thinking about Cherryheart. Could he possibly ask Dewstar to let the senior warrior take over his training? But by doing that, he risked getting yowled at by Lionstrike. He’ll think about his decision. They came into a mossy clearing, where Duskpaw could see Snowmist staring at the bushes. They suddenly rustled, and Doepaw emerged, a limp rabbit dangling from her jaws. Snowmist congratulated her, and smiled. Duskpaw perked his ears up. "Doepaw!" His sister’s head turned into his direction, and dropping the rabbit, she smiled. "Hi, Duskpaw!" She mewed excitedly. Snowmist turned to give Duskpaw a warning glare. "Don’t distract her. She’s training." Her voice was surpirisingly gentle. Snowmist herself reminded Duskpaw of Cherryheart; they both looked extremely similar. The only difference Duskpaw has noticed is that Cherryheart’s pelt is darker than Snowmist’s, but Cherryheart’s green eyes were significantly brighter. Lionstrike turned to face Duskpaw again. "Focus, Duskpaw," he snapped. "Focus!" Duskpaw eyed Lionstrike, baring his teeth into a snarl. "Shut up," he snapped, before storming into a bush. Lionstrike glared at where he disappeared, anger in his eyes. Duskpaw wished that Cherryheart would be his mentor instead. He won’t care if Lionstrike got angry. Duskpaw heard rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning around, he caught sight of a squirrel, nibbling on a nut that was in its paws. Duskpaw stalked towards it, trying to make his pawsteps as light as possible. I will not get distracted. I will show Lionstrike that I’m a focused hunter. Duskpaw crouched in the pouncing pose, ready to leap onto the mouse. Ears alert at his prey, he sat still for a few moments, then sprang onto the squirrel. But when he looked at his paws, they were empty. He turned around, noticing the squirrel darting towards the trees. Annoyed, Duskpaw began to chase it, following the little creature’s scent through the woods. Think about nothing but the squirrel. The red creature sprang up a tree, quickly making its way up the trunk and into the branches. Duskpaw looked up at the tree, narrowing his eyes at the squirrel. His amber eyes were fixed on the squirrel’s red pelt, his claws unsheathed. Duskpaw expected the ground underneath his next pawstep to be stable, but instead the ground gave way under the apprentice’s paw. Shocked, Duskpaw was taken along with his paw, and he fell down a deep pit, just like in his dream. Before long, Duskpaw thumped onto a nest made out of moss and leaves. Looking around, he realised he was surrounded by darkness. He thought it was silent down here, but he was wrong. Two different voices, both belonging to two she-cats, one grumpy and one excited, were pouring out from a tunnel, and Duskpaw perked his ears up to listen. "I swear I heard something fall into my trap!" came the excited voice. "Everyone knows that your trap catches nothing but pigeons," replied the grumpy voice. "But this drop was different! Let me prove you this catch is not a pigeon." "Okay, fine. Go see what fell into your trap." Duskpaw heard pawsteps approach his nest, and couldn’t stop himself from shivering. Questions exploded in his head. Who are these cats? What are they doing here? What Clan are they in? Why do they have traps? A voice from behind startled him. "Hello." Duskpaw turned around, and managed to make out the shape of the she-cat; she was a yellow tabby with icy blue eyes. "H-hello," he stammered back. "I’m so glad!" she meowed happily. "Every other cat’s traps catch kittypets and stuff, and until now I only caught pigeons, pigeons!" Duskpaw was a little bit confused. "O-okay." "Well, now that you’re here," she mewed, "I want to talk. Everybody thinks I’m a weirdo, because I talk too much and too fast. My mother and my aunt work close to the leader, and my sister is like “Ooooh, I love Shade sooooo much!!!” and I’m kind of lonely. Oh right, names! My name is Leonie." Duskpaw was confused. This cat had a leader, and wasn’t part of any Clans. Was she part of a rogue group? "Uh," Duskpaw hesitated, "I’m Duskpaw." "Oh, no," Leonie muttered under her breath. "What?" asked Duskpaw. "That’s a Clan name. The Clans must live here now. And the Marnation hates the Clans. Well, except for my grandmother Pretzel, maybe. Her mate is part of a Clan. But you are in danger, Duskpaw." Duskpaw shivered. "Oh." Then he thought he could hear Lionstrike calling his name. "In that case, can I go?" "Uh..." Leonie shook her head. "...I’m not the leader. I can’t release captured cats without Martin’s consent. Come, let me take him to you. We can pretend your name is Dusk." "Okay." As Duskpaw followed Leonie into the tunnel, a lot of worries filled his head. What will these cats do to him? How long will he stay down in this tunnel? What if he doesn’t make it out alive? Chapter Two Redsky crouched and took a bite of the mouse in front of her. She felt its soft texture on her tongue, allowing memories to fly into her mind. She remembered being a kit, tumbling and wrestling with her siblings, Lushspirit and Cloudstripe. Then she remembered her apprenticeship, how she learned the ways of a warrior, and how to hunt, fight and most importantly believe in MirageClan. An ear-splitting yowl washed her memories like loose pebbles in a river. She looked up, face pointed worriedly in the direction of the camp entrance, mouse forgotten. Lionstrike stood there, his amber eyes full of worry. Snowmist and her apprentice Doepaw were beside him, their green eyes full of concern. “It’s Duskpaw,” Lionstrike breathed, “he’s gone!” Some warriors gasped in unison, while others looked at each other, worried. Dewstar, who was perched on the Heat Rock at the time, leaped from her position and padded towards Lionstrike. “Don’t worry,” she told him, “we’ll search for him.” Her head swivelled round to face the rest of the Clan. “Amberfrost, take Lionstrike to the medicine den to calm him down. Thrushfeather, lead a patrol to FloraClan borders, taking Hollymoon, Fireblaze and Pinewhisker with you. Stormfire, lead a patrol to the SmokeClan border, taking Blackbriar, Sorrowtail and Jet with you. And Redsky, lead a patrol to the Hunting Woods, taking Littleheart, Pebbletail and Grasspaw with you. Come back as soon as possible, preferred with Duskpaw alongside.” As Redsky quickly finished her mouse, Dewstar stepped aside to allow Lionstrike, Snowmist and Doepaw to enter camp, and for the patrols to exit. Redsky, being a leader of a patrol, gathered her cats together and padded out of camp, making sure the two warriors and Grasspaw were following. She steered them towards the Hunting Woods, ears pricked for any sounds. Upon entering the woods, Redsky was clouded with the scent of prey, either hanging around in the trees or scuttling on the lush forest floor. She knew the cats of her patrol were tempted to hunt down the fresh-kill for their clan, but they had a mission to fulfill: an apprentice had gone missing, an apprentice that would serve his clans for days to come if he was found. But Redsky was still unsure if they would ever find him. She lifted her nose into the air, and parted her jaws to see if she could pick up the scent of the missing apprentice, but nothing but the smell of fresh-kill came to her. Redsky felt the need to call Duskpaw’s name, in hope that he would hear her. “Duskpaw?” Her ears pricked up for a response. “Kittypet Dusky?!” came Grasspaw’s mocking voice. Redsky turned around to see Littleheart give Grasspaw a big smack in his ears. “Don’t you call Duskpaw that,” she snapped. “It’s not his fault his mother has kittypet blood.” Grasspaw didn’t reply; he just gave an exasperated snort and stayed quiet. Redsky turned her head back around, and sighed. Are they ever going to find Duskpaw with distraction flooding in their brains? Suddenly, Pebbletail trailed off, nose to the grass. He padded away from the patrol and into the woods, ears flicking to and fro and eyes alert. He turned around to face Redsky’s patrol again, his yellow eyes glimmering with hope. “I picked up some scent. Cat scent!” Redsky’s eyes widened with happiness. Was Duskpaw safe and sound, after all? Curious, Redsky made her way after Pebbletail, flicking her dark ginger tail as a signal for the cats to follow her. She carried on after Pebbletail’s grey tabby pelt, and struggled to stop herself after Pebbletail drew to a sudden halt. He turned around again. “The scent stops here,” he told her, his bright yellow eyes dimming. Redsky sniffed the area where Pebbletail’s nose decided to stop. There was definitely the smell of cat there, but it was also clear that the scent trail had stopped suddenly and unexpectedly. Where could this trail have gone? “It definitely stops,” Redsky declared. “But how does it stop like that? There was no rain since Duskpaw’s disappearance, and the trail stops in the middle of this clearing, where it is too far to reach the trees. What could possibly have happened to Duskpaw?” Grasspaw’s irritating voice came first. “Maybe the Walkers took him, where he could really become a kittypet.” Littleheart, obviously furious this time, gave Grasspaw a strong smack to the head. “Ow,” Grasspaw whined. “What kind of warrior would do that?” Littleheart glared at him. “What kind of apprentice would tease another apprentice, just because of their parents?” she snarled. “Quit it or you’ll be trapped on The Path before you know it.” Grasspaw, obviously frightened by the warrior’s threat, puffed his tail and stepped back a bit. Redsky knew about The Path; it was a straight path near SmokeClan territory that went for a long distance, and large monsters would thunder on it from time to time. They were called Death-snakes, and all warriors have nightmares of these creatures crashing towards them. Redsky sighed, then turned to the rest of the patrol. “We should go back to camp,” she meowed. “It's nearly lunch and we're all quite hungry. We can investigate the scent later today or tomorrow.” To her surprise, the patrol agreed, and they followed her back to camp. ***** “Wow. That is mysterious,” Dewstar told Redsky when she returned. “We can send you there to further investigate it tomorrow. Meanwhile, you can rest.” The leader dipped her light brown tabby head before returning to her den. Redsky nodded as she left, then worry hit her. We need to find Duskpaw soon. We can't let him go missing like that. Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete) Category:Fanfictions (Fanon) Category:Content (DewSpectrum11)